Thoughts

One of my Facebook friends is currently working in a small Southern town, which is primarily black.

She recently posted a status update which said something to the effect that the people in this town have been so horribly oppressed for so long, that they don't even know that they are oppressed.

That got me thinking.

Can you truly be oppressed if someone has to tell you that you're oppressed?

Now, I'm not saying that there might not be injustices that need to be corrected, but, I don't know, what if these people were happy before this group of people came in and started telling them how crappy their lives were?

I don't know the particulars of the situation, but I just keep thinking about how we as humans tend to constantly compare our lives to others. And someone always has it better, right? and if we focused on that we would probably all be depressed.

Again, I don't want to downplay the fact that if there were truly some serious injustices occurring in this town, that they need to be corrected. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity & respect. But... I just keep thinking about the what ifs.
And seriously, what if these people were happy the way things were, before they were told how bad they were? Then are they really better off now that they're miserably going about "fixing" their town?

Just a thought.

Life without Mirrors

or photographs. or video. or any way to see ourselves at all.

What would this life be like?

I vote: better. happier.

The week we were on our cruise, the only mirrors available were head high - meaning all you could see was essentially your portrait. No way to check on how your body looked in a certain outfit, nothing.

And I was happy. And I felt good about myself. And I was confident. And I felt attractive. I daresay on occasion I even felt sexy.

And then we came home. And I was still feeling pretty good. Until I saw the pictures of me from our trip. And was reminded of how much weight I have to lose. And was disgusted with how fat I looked.

I know. This post says more about me and my personal struggles than anything. But I have to wonder. How much better would life be without any way to judge how you looked?

Do you ever wonder if you need professional help? Seriously. Sometimes I think this is a bigger issue for me than it should be.
I mean, on our trip, I felt really good about myself. I knew full well that by conventional standards I wasn't as attractive as the other women on the cruise, but I didn't care. I achieved a lot last week. Had a lot of firsts. Spent some great quality time with my hubby. I was confident. I was fun. I sought out adventure. I liked who I was.
Now? Back home, remembering how fat & gross I am? I have no confidence. I pretty much think I stink at everything. I wonder what people think when they see me. I'm not motivated to do much. And I dare say all this makes me less fun & less attractive.
Maybe I do need help.

Ugh.

We're Back !!

Sorry I've been MIA. Last week FireMan & I took a weeklong dive cruise thru the Bahamas. It was awesome! Lots of fishies!

Will plan to get back to my regularly scheduled posting in no time.

But while I'm here... I big CONGRATULATIONS to Candace on the birth of her son! Congrats!

Happy Birthday FireGirl !!!!

One year ago today my little angel came into this world.

At this time last year, I was in my 24th hour of labor (of 30 total), and screaming to wake the dead. Or so I've been told. And it was worth every second.

Happy Birthday Baby! I love you!

Serving the Lord

What does this mean?

This morning, while preparing FireGirl's breakfast, I looked at the decorative plate we have hanging above the kitchen sink. On it is this scripture reference:

"...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." - Joshua 24: 15 (KJV)

But what does that mean? How do we serve God? Doesn't He already have anything He could possibly need? I mean, after all, He's God. So how do we serve the Lord our God?

Here's what I've come up with so far.

#1 - spread the word of His Kingdom, the Good News, the Gospel. Share your testimony, in big or small ways.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" -- Matthew 28:19 (KJV)

#2 - Pray for the needs of others

" pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." -- John 17:9 (KJV)

#3 - serve your fellow man, in big ways, or in small.

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." -- Galations 5:13 (KJV)

#4 - take care of God's creation (man, beast, plant, or land)

"The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." -- Psalm 24:1 (KJV)

"A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast:..." -- Proverbs 12:10 (KJV)

I am by no means an expert on the will of God. I'm just a sinner saved by grace. But I think this is a pretty good start.

Anything to add? How do you interpret "serve the Lord"?

FireGirl's First Birthday Party...

... was yesterday.

We had a beautiful, wonderful, awesomely blessed day.

I still need to download some pics, but I'll try to post one or two once I get them.

It was a great day. We had a lot of family, and a few close friends, and more love than I can express. I am truly thankful for the blessing God has given us in they way of loving family & friends. I am thankful for the ones who were able to share in this day with us, and for the wonderful generosity they showed towards FireGirl.

On the way to the park where we had the party, I was overwhelmed with the acknowledgement of how blessed FireMan & I really are. Even materially speaking. Don't get me wrong, we're not wealthy by any means. We live in a fixer-upper, drive used cars, I'm a coupon-cutting fool when it comes to our food budget, etc, etc, etc. But we still have so much. Just the fact that we were able to spend what money we did to have FireGirl's party, that we were able to buy her a great present as well. I just can't believe how God has chosen to bless our lives.

Amen!

Different is not necessarily better or worse. It's just different.

The company I work for employees people from just about every diverse aspect you can think of. It's a melting pot of races, ethnicities, and cultures; genders and sexual orientation, religions and physical abilities. You name it, we probably got it.

And with very few exceptions, we all respect each other's differences. It's great.

Oddly enough, the biggest cultural intolerance I see here has nothing to do with race, creed, or gender - it's the cultural differences between different divisions within the same company, even here at the same location.

I have a hard time even describing it. But there are very clear cultural differences between each division. And everyone thinks their division is doing things the right way, and they look down on the others. At least this has been my experience. At times it's almost comical.

The thing that gets me, not only at work, but in the world in general, is why "different", has to be looked at as either better or worse. Why can't something, or someone, just be different, but have the same value?

Feelings hurt.

FireMan really upset me last night. Hurt my feelings. Badly. I'm still not over it.

Of course, the worst thing is I don't even know if he realizes it. Or realizes how much it stung.

That's the downside to loving someone so much. They can hurt you so easily. Why? Because you care. If you didn't care, it wouldn't matter.